In My Mailbox #6

This week's In My Mailbox is actually a bit of a mish-mosh of my library acquisitions from the last two weeks. Some of these I've already read (and loved!) and others I'm eagerly awaiting finding the time to start.  IMM is a fantastic meme in which bloggers list the books that they received over the last week via mail/bookstore/library.  It's hosted by the lovely Story Siren over at her awesome blog and you can go here to get more info about joining in!
  

Ten Things I Hate About Me

Randa Abdel-Fattah

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
Jessica Day George


The lass has grown up without a name, in a world of constant winter.  But when a mysterious white bear shows up on the doorstep, the lass' special gift of speaking to animals offers her an opportunity to help her family.  So she agrees to travel with the bear back to his strange castle and remain with him there for a year in exchange for her family's wealth.  However, neither the bear, his bizarre servants, nor the lass herself are what they seem.  


Now, I've got to put it out there that I am a sucker for a fairy or folk tale retell.  So, with my bias out in the open, I can say that I genuinely enjoyed this particular retelling of the Norse story, 'East of the Sun, West of the Moon.'  Despite remaining nameless for nearly the entire novel, the main character is admirable and sympathetic.  Within the first few chapters, the reader is able to gain a good picture of her family and her background as well as her individual personality; so when she goes on her strange journey, the audience is happy to follow her.  


The plot has pretty steady action and the mystery is revealed slowly, keeping the reader hooked until the final chapters.  The romance is sweet and generally satisfying.  The story feels a little unoriginal at times and the conclusion was somewhat rushed but overall, this novel is fresh pick for lovers of fairy and folk tale retellings and romantic fantasy. I read Edith Pattou's version of the same tale, East, a few years ago and think that I might prefer it.  However, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow might work better for a younger teen audience. It could match well with novels by Gail Carson Levine, Robin McKinley, or Donna Jo Napoli.


3/5 STARS   
    

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

Airborn
Kenneth Oppel


Matt Cruse has only wanted one thing in life: to fly.  As a cabin boy on the  Aurora airship,  Matt is living his dream.  But then he helps the crew rescue a lost and injured balloonist and suddenly Matt's carefully planned life is pulled off course into an adventure far beyond any of his dreams.  


Whew, what a fast and fun read! This steampunk adventure can truly be described as rollicking and swashbuckling.  Airborn has a fast moving plot, relatable but interesting characters, and great fantasy world.  Matt simultaneously introduces us to the general mechanics of his world and his own passion for the Aurora.  


From the minute I began reading Airborn, I could not put it down.  The story keep moving from exciting event to exciting event. The world building happens naturally in the flow of the story. Matt and Kate, the rich young passenger and explorer, make excellent partners and appealing protagonists; both are tough, determined, and loyal.  Airborn has all the elements of a great adventure story: pirates, romance, suspense, fantastic creatures, and nonstop action.  And the best part? There are two more books in the trilogy, Skybreaker and Starclimber.  


This book will definitely appeal to lovers of adventure stories.  Airborn could be sold to readers who enjoy classic science fiction and pirate stories like those by Jules Verne and Robert Louis Stevenson as well as lovers of most recent fantasy adventures.  It could also be paired with other steampunk style novels like Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan series. 


4/5 STARS 

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

Smile
Raina Telgemeier
Raina just wants to get through sixth grade.  Then one night she trips and smacks her front teeth into the pavement.  Now, Raina has to deal with a succession of crazy dentistry drama on top of the everyday confusions that seem to come with growing up.  


Delightful-that's my gut one-word description of this great graphic novel.  Based on her own experiences, Telgemeier's story will resonate with a lot of young readers; it's  both funny and painful-like any heartfelt and honest recollection of middle school must be.  Raina's thoughts, worries, and reactions will be very familiar to any other middle schooler; she is a spunky but reassuringly average protagonist.  The illustration style fits the characters and the age group.  Telgemeier uses clean lines and bright colors; the characters' figures and faces clearly express a range of emotions, supporting the story's focus on Raina's feelings and personal experiences.  


Smile has been one of my first forays into the graphic novel genre and it definitely made a very positive impact. Its subject and style could attract a range of readers, including some that might normally be less likely to pick up a graphic novel.  Also, Smile is great example of the diversity within the graphic novel genre now; it doesn't fit into the stereotype of a comic book that springs to mind for many adults, and some teens, when you say 'graphic novel.'  


Overall, Smile is delightful graphic novel with wide-spread appeal for a variety of teens sixth grade and up.  


5/5 STARS

Another Kind of Cowboy by Susan Juby

Another Kind of Cowboy 
Susan Juby


For both Alex and Cleo, dressage represents a chance for escape.  When Alex changes into his riding pants and dances his horse out into the ring, he can leave behind the macho cowboy image-and his father's expectations that go with it.  Meanwhile, for Cleo, dressage seems to be an opportunity to start over at a new school-and maybe to find love again.  But Alex and Cleo both have secrets and it will be a rough ride that will either end in true friendship or deep hatred.  


Another Kind of Cowboy is an enjoyable story set an interesting world: the world of competitive riding.  The story is told by Alex and Cleo in alternating chapters and follows their bumpy journeys to self-acceptance and adulthood.  


The novel is full of quirky and generally likable characters and the two protagonists act as interesting contrasts to each other in terms of personality and situation.  However, some of the characters, although fun, remain a little flat; Alex's martial arts loving twin sisters are a good example.  They're funny but sometimes feel a little too much like a sitcom gag.  Additionally I found the protagonists to be a little uneven.  While I immediately loved Alex, I found it much more difficult to feel sympathetic for the spoiled Cleo.  


However, it's always refreshing to find a novel with LGBTQ characters that works the discovery or exploration of that identity into a larger story; certainly the story is about Alex coming to terms with his sexuality but it is not only about his sexuality.  Also, I really liked being immersed in the exciting but, to me, foreign world of competitive riding; this aspect might open the book's appeal to teen riders who would likely enjoy seeing their passion reflected in a story.  


2.5/5 STARS   

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

13 Little Blue Envelopes
Maureen Johnson


Only a few months after her mysterious but beloved Aunt Peg dies, Ginny suddenly receives a package. Inside the package are thirteen letters from her aunt containing explicit instructions to send Ginny out on the European adventure of a lifetime-a final gift from Peg.  


This book has been on my 'to-read' list for months now and at last I grabbed a chance to pick it up! It turns out that my timing was actually pretty ideal since the long awaited sequel, The Last Little Blue Envelope comes out TODAY!  And after finishing this book, I'm definitely eager to read more about Ginny and her adventures.


13 Little Blue Envelopes is, like all of Maureen Johnson's books, witty, fun, romantic, and heartfelt.  Ginny is a solid lead in a cast of quirky and appealing characters.  The hook (those mysterious little blue envelopes)creates a non-stop adventure that manages to be both an epic love song to European travel and a gentle coming-of-age story for the quiet but spunky Ginny.  As Ginny travels from city to city and country to country, she slowly learns more about the woman her aunt became while discovering the young woman she wants to become.  


Following Ginny across the Continent, I immediately longed to return to my own year abroad in Europe; this novel will not only appeal to fans of Johnson's other works but also to teenage travelers or want-to-be travelers.  Overall, a great read! The novel could pair well with nonfiction about travel and different countries or a other novels featuring globe-trotting girls such as Stephanie Perkins' Anna and the French Kiss, Johnson's Girl at Sea, or Ann Brashares' Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.  


4.5/5 STARS 

In My Mailbox AKA Wayward Blogger Returns At Last!

Whew! It has been a crazy couple of months in the life of this library school student!  As my disappearance from the blogosphere might show, real life got very busy for the last several months and this blog had go on the back burner for a while. But I'm back! So, in celebration, here is my first IMM post of 2011! IMM is a fantastic meme in which bloggers list the books that they received over the last week via mail/bookstore/library.  It's hosted by the lovely Story Siren over at her awesome blog and you can go here to get more info about joining in!   


Since the term is winding up this week, I returned to naughty habit of leaving the library with piles of books. So this week's IMM is quite big! 


The Fold by An Na
Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls by Rachel Simmons
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd ed. by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci
Ship Breaker by Paulo Bacigalupi
Pink by Lili Wilkinson
A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (Audiobook)

This week I also grabbed and read and already returned two other great books:

13 Little Blue Envelopes

by Maureen Johnson

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow 

by Jessica Day George

Reviews will be coming soon-along with some reviews from my backlog of reading from the last few months!